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Chapter 584 What's Up with Tara?

"

Jax found Scarlett in the hospital cafeteria sitting at the back of the room alone.

"I got you a cinnamon roll and coffee," Scarlett said. Across from her was a small plate with the pastry and coffee. She was sipping a Coke. Jax had learned Scarlett rarely drank hot beverages.

"Thanks. That talk with Tara went a little weird."

"I thought it might."

"It wasn't anything romantic. She said she knows we never had romantic love. We were together during a turbulent time in our lives and we helped each other. I used to be angrier and more impulsive and she helped with that. She was the nerdy girl and when we were together, she gained access to the popular group. She said it made her feel like she belonged. She confessed she knows she's made a lot of bad decisions trying to find love."

"I'm sure she was hoping that she would suddenly find romantic love with you. I just never felt this need to find romantic love."

"You didn't think it could happen to you," Jax reminded her. "I remember you used to tell me you were defective."

Scarlett's face softened as she looked at Jax.

"I thought I was either defective or I was above all that romance nonsense."

"Yeah, I kind of felt like that too. That's why I ended up with Wendy. When Tara and I were together, she was insanely jealous but that was her insecurity showing. I kind of liked it. It fed my ego."

"Your ego needed feeding?" Scarlett asked incredulously.

Jax chuckled.

"Smart mouth. Teen guys are all hormones and having a girl wanting to fight for me made me feel good. I was thinking that it would be nice if you were a little more jealous and as I thought about it, I realized that you feel secure with me and if you didn't, you'd kick my ass to the curb. I like that you trust me and are secure with me. It's much better than childish jealousy."

"I'm glad you see it that way. As I told you early on, I trust you and if I can't trust you, we're done."

"We both live complicated lives. We need to be honest with each other."

Scarlett nodded and drank some Coke. Jax had the unmistakable feeling that Scarlett was uneasy. Could she be hiding something from him? He knew about her psycho ex. His gut told him there was something else she was hiding from him, but what?

"With my psycho ex dead, my life became a lot less complicated."

"Tara just had an odd way of talking almost like she was saying good-bye to me. Did the doctors saying anything about this being a tricky surgery?"

"No. It's a surgery that needs a skilled surgeon, but I don't think it's one of those surgeries that is unusually dangerous. She should get through the surgery if the surgeon doesn't botch it and cut an artery or something like that or she doesn't get a fatal infection. As far as infections go, you just never know. That's the same for any surgery."

"She just seemed different."

"Getting close to death changes you," Scarlett said. "My psycho ex planned to kill me, you got shot—it makes us feel different. Remember the night you got shot? I told you not to die that I loved you and you promised you wouldn't and you loved me?"

"I'll never forgot that and Juice's fingers in my ass," Jax said and they chuckled at the memory. It had taken weeks before he and Juice could make eye contact.

"Tara's going through that right now. She just wants to say some things just in case. I did something similar when I had major back surgery. The idea of someone operating on my spinal cord scared me, but it was the only way to get rid of the pain. I had confidence in the neurosurgeon, but you never know.

"You don't know if he's hung over or high or if he's having a bad day. I wanted to make sure that if something happened to me, my father knew how much I loved him and how grateful I was that he was my father. I left him a letter on his nightstand. I understand Tara wanting to tell you how she felt about you and how she sees you as a friend who helped make her fit in."

Jax gave that some thought as he chewed a bite of his cinnamon roll. It sounded like that's all Tara was trying to do just make sure that he knew she saw him as a friend and was grateful to him for the time they shared. It didn't mean she thought she was going to die. There was just something that struck him as wrong. He couldn't shake his misgivings about Tara's surgery.

If Tara died, he would be sad, but it wouldn't be life altering. When he thought Esai was going to take Scarlett; that chilled him to the bone with fear. No matter how well he protected her, it wasn't until Esai was dead that he felt relief. Losing Scarlett would be devastating while losing Tara would make him sad.

Scarlett got a phone call. Hale was in the parking lot and would be there in a few minutes. Jax was just finishing his pastry and coffee when Hale walked over to them. The two men eyed each other warily. Jax didn't like it that Scarlett was going to law enforcement, but she was doing it on Tara's behalf and the MC couldn't deal with the situation at St. Thomas. He had to swallow the fact that sometimes law enforcement was needed.

"I'm going to go up to the surgical waiting room. If I hear anything, I'll text you."

The two men nodded at each other as Jax left.

"

Author's Note This chapter hints at some future plot developments. The St. Thomas storyline will be concluded. Buck Jeffers will go on a run with the MC and you know that's going to go horribly horribly wrong. Tig's going to continue to come unhinged and have identity issues and I've got a couple of plot twists coming soon. And Scarlett and Jax's relationship will be tested.

If you are looking for a Christmas story check our Tara's Perfectly Imperfect Christmas about Jax and Tara's first Christmas as a couple back in high school. I don't write Tara like the TV show and also check out Unexpected Christmas about Tara returning home from college and running into Jax. There's also a plot about Opie and Donna. They are both under MVeneer. Even if you hate Tara, just pretend it's another character whose name is Tara and if you love Tara and Jax, this Tara is an improvement over wooden TV Tara. Never really bought the Jax/Tara epic love. Maggie Siff is just so stiff and aloof. Jax was sexier with a cigarette than with Tara.

I am taking a break until the second week of 2024. Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday and 2024 is a great year!